Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 19, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am.

Tim Boyles, Getty Images

1. Drastic Changes Needed?

Today on the show we will discuss whether or not drastic changes are needed to the Republican Party as RNC Chairman Reince Priebus put it yesterday. If you read the report on why Republicans failed in 2012, you come away thinking that the Republican Party is doomed. However, I don't think it is and I don't think it will be anything drastic to make the GOP winners again.

Yes, I do think that the GOP has to decided what it's core principles are. Yes, I do think that the GOP has been too willing to "eat their own" if a fellow Republican disagrees with another Republican. When it comes to elections, Republicans trail the Democrats on the ground game and in the digital world.

However, the changes Republicans have to make mainly come down to messaging in my opinion. We need strong leaders who can go toe to toe with Democrats who try to portray Republicans as something we aren't.

We need a message and a clear way to get that message out. The party must allow for debate, but also shouldn't abandon the core principles of life, smaller government, and personal freedom.

Michael Bloomberg is at it again in New York City. This time the nanny-state Mayor wants to ban tobacco from being on display.

A new proposal would require New York City retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight under a first-in-the-nation proposal aimed at reducing the youth smoking rate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

The legislation would require stores to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. They could only be visible when an adult is making a purchase or during restocking.

While New York City would be the first in the nation to do this, Bloomberg says prohibitions began to be implemented in Iceland in 2001 and Canada in 2005, and these countries have already seen substantial declines in youth smoking.

"Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity," Bloomberg said. "And they invite young people to experiment with tobacco."

Stores devoted primarily to the sale of tobacco products would be exempt from the display ban.

The mayor's office said retail stores could still advertise tobacco products under the legislation.

"We have made tremendous strides in combating smoking in New York City but this leading killer still threatens the health of our children," said Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the health commissioner, "and youth smoking rates have remained flat at 8.5 percent since 2007."

Farley said the city's comprehensive anti-smoking program cut adult smoking rates by nearly a third -- from 21.5 percent in 2002 to 14.8 percent in 2011 -- but the youth rate has remained flat, at 8.5 percent, since 2007.

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death among New Yorkers, Farley said.

The legislation, to be introduced in the City Council on Wednesday, is comprised of two separate bills that Farley called "logical, important next steps to further protect our teens from tobacco."

The second bill, called the "Sensible Tobacco Enforcement" bill, strengthens enforcement of discounted and smuggled cigarettes.

The Sensible Tobacco Enforcement bill includes the following provisions:

•Increasing penalties for retailers who evade tobacco taxes or sell tobacco without a license.
•Prohibiting retailers from redeeming coupons or honoring other price discounts for tobacco products.
•Creating a minimum price for cigarettes and little cigars, which are virtually identical to cigarettes, at $10.50 per pack.
•Requiring that cheap cigars and cigarillos be sold in packages of at least 4, and little cigars be sold in packages of at least 20. Cigars that cost more than $3 each are exempt from the packaging rule.

Bloomberg has backed a number of public health measures, including a crackdown on large sizes of sugary drinks and adding calorie counts to menus. A judge blocked the drinks ban but the city is appealing.

This guy is unreal! The sad part of all this is that the people in NYC keep Bloomberg around. Hiding the tobacco products will do nothing to lower the rate of smoking and it won't keep kids from smoking.

I wonder how long until our little Bloomberg in Lubbock, Karen Gibson, gets the idea to do the same to products she doesn't like.

3. LP&L & City Council

Today the Lubbock City Council will meet with LP&L's Public Utility Board at 11am at City Hall. On the agenda is a planned discussion over the EUB's power. According to the City of Lubbock's website item 4.1 on the agenda states:

Discuss and deliberate the function and responsibilities of the Electric Utility Board regarding the management, governance, finances, policies and operation of Lubbock Power & Light including a discussion of recent comments of the Mayor and City Management regarding the Electric Utility Board and the management of LP&L.

With an audit on-going this should be an interesting meeting. The Mayor has been very outspoken about the audit and red flags. The question I have is where has the rest of the City Council been on this?

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.